New York Sees Light Turnout After Lopsided Mayoral Polls

New York City voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to decide whether they would put a Democrat back in control of the nation’s largest city for the first time in two decades.

In a campaign dominated by discussions about police tactics, income inequality and the legacy of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, voters were presented with a stark choice between a politician who bills himself as having a progressive liberal vision for the city and one with a more conservative, bureaucratic approach to governance.

The Democratic candidate, Bill de Blasio, held a commanding lead in pre-election polls, draining some of the excitement out of the contest and leading him to warn his supporters in the days before the election not to get complacent.

His Republican rival, Joseph J. Lhota, evoked stunning upsets of years past, hoping that he could surprise the many prognosticators who have all but written him off.

For some voters interviewed at polling stations around the city, the election was a referendum on 12 years of Mr. Bloomberg’s tenure.

Darrian Smith, 48, a custodian at Public School 150 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, practically shouted Mr. de Blasio’s name when asked which candidate would get his vote. He said Mr. de Blasio represents a significant departure from what he called Mr. Bloomberg’s dictatorial style.

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Bill de Blasio, the Democratic mayoral candidate, voted with his daughter, Chiara, in Brooklyn.Credit
Damon Winter/The New York Times

Mr. de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, appeals to him, he said, because of his commitment to reform the police tactic of stopping, questioning and frisking people in high crime neighborhoods.

“I was a victim of it myself, twice,” Mr. Smith said. “There’s not one African-American man I know that I can say has not been stopped and frisked.”

Samuel Jusino, 49, said he agreed with Mr. de Blasio that Mr. Bloomberg had essentially created two cities: one for the rich and one for everyone else.

As an example, he cited his own rent, which has gone to $580 from $421 a month for his one-bedroom home in Brownsville.

“Bloomberg has been here so many years and the city is not getting better,” he said. “It’s worse, to me.”

Loriann Panariello, 50, a stay-at-home mother who lives in Brownsville with three children, said she was supporting Mr. Lhota because she feared that Mr. de Blasio was not tough enough on crime.

She said that she realized there was little chance that Mr. Lhota could win, but that she felt compelled to vote because she fears that the city could “return to what it used to be: Crime. Violence. Innocent people losing their lives.”

“In certain areas like Brownsville,” she said, “there should be stop-and-frisk. Too many innocent young kids are dying of gun violence.”

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Joseph J. Lhota voted with his wife, Tamra, and daughter, Kathryn, in Brooklyn.Credit
Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Mr. De Blasio arrived an hour behind schedule to cast his ballot in at a library in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He has made his family a centerpiece of his campaign, with both his son and daughter featuring prominently in television advertisements.

“This is the greatest gift I could have on Election Day is to have my daughter with us today,” he said. “As we wait for the results of the day, I’m already floating on air because my daughter’s here with us.”

Mr. Lhota also arrived with his family to vote at Congregation Mount Sinai in Brooklyn Heights around 9:15 a.m.

The lopsided polls that have consistently showed Mr. de Blasio with a lead of as much as 40 points were expected to depress voter turnout.

Jerry Skurnik, a Democratic political consultant, predicted that turnout would be around 1.2 million — about what it was in 2009, when Mayor Bloomberg was widely expected to win a third term. Another Democratic consultant, Bruce N. Gyory, predicted turnout between 1.1 million and 1.25 million. There are 4.3 million active registered voters in New York City.

Mr. de Blasio is hoping to ride the wave of populist momentum that has sustained him since September, when he emerged from a crowded field to win the Democratic nomination. An overwhelming victory might help him win support for his long list of policy ideas, including his signature proposal, a plan to raise taxes on wealthy residents to pay for an expansion of prekindergarten and after-school programs.